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As movies usually do, this story appears to have a rather quick resolution to a marriage in trouble, and we all know that prayer does not always result in such an swift fix to a complicated problem. My guess is that most of us, however, also know that we don't give prayer the attention it deserves. Even though
1 Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to "pray continually," a dedicated prayer time to remain connected to God and focus on prayer is a crucial part of that relationship.
In the New International Version, James 5:16 tells us "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." The King James Version uses the term "fervent prayer". We need to ask ourselves just how fervent are our prayers? 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" and 1 Corinthians 1:30 says Jesus is "our righteousness". In my mind, then, if we start our time of prayer with self-examination and confession, we can stand righteously before God and have a powerful and effective prayer life.
Miss Clara has set aside a closet in her bedroom that she calls her "war room." It's her favorite room in the house; here she posts prayers on the walls and does battle in prayer. We can assume this idea comes from Matthew 6:6 which speaks of going to your room, closing the door, and praying in secret...the Kings James Version specifically refers to praying in your closet. Though we know we can pray anywhere, setting aside a private place for prayer and writing prayers down are important ingredients to increased strength in prayer.
Since War Room has "hit the big screen" I have heard of a couple of ladies who have created their own space or closet for prayer. The picture above is mine. After viewing War Room and contemplating how to create a prayer wall on my computer or some other creative space for prayer, the Lord reminded me that I had a relatively empty closet in the spare bedroom. It's over the stairs and has a couple of large "shelves" suitable for sitting. Then I was reminded of some carpet scraps I had in the basement. A couple of days later I went downstairs and was not overly surprised when the first piece of carpet I picked up was the exact dimensions I needed to cover the lower shelf. On my way back up, I grabbed a couple of over sized pillows, printed my prayer list, and a few minutes later a war room was born!
There's no magic in a closet, a carpet square, a couple of pillows, and a list, but there is power in prayer. Creating a place, keeping a written list or journal, and committing the time to pray regularly will hopefully be just what's needed to cultivate a more powerful and effective prayer life. Finally, just as Miss Clara prays for and receives her chance to mentor someone younger than her, we need to take care to be an example to those who follow in our footsteps. Take, for example, a story Robin posted on Facebook after she had created a prayer corner in her bedroom closet. "Sitting in my closet, which is now my prayer closet just surrounded by my clothes. Z___ (her autistic son) came in yesterday and sat with me. He said, 'Jesus,?' Yes, baby Jesus. Z, 'Jesus, thank you for today, I love you in Jesus name amen.' He got up and left and I had the biggest smile on my face. No sweeter name has ever came out of his mouth and to pray on his own." Her post ends with the admonition, "Our kids are watching.
As a final thought, I will show my age and leave you to ponder the chorus of "Steve Green's song "Find Us Faithful" from the mid 90's.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful